{"id":161,"date":"2026-09-08T15:05:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/?p=161"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:05:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:05:41","slug":"physical-science-and-the-demographic-cliff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/2026\/09\/08\/physical-science-and-the-demographic-cliff\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Science and the Demographic Cliff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Physical Science and the Demographic Cliff<\/strong><\/p>\n

S. M. Gollmer<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reading the September issue of Physics Today<\/em>, I came across an article by Trevor Owens titled \u201cThe decline in physics bachelor\u2019s degrees: Contributors and consequences.\u201d\u00a0 It is not surprising that he cites the demographic cliff in higher education.\u00a0 This cliff is due to the sudden decline in birth rates after the Great Recession and the lower percentage of high school students choosing higher education rather than entering the work force.\u00a0 These factors contribute to a projected 13% decline in enrollment through 2041.<\/p>\n

Physics has always been a low enrollment major given the demands of a major that is at the nexus of mathematics and science.\u00a0 However, what did surprise me was the declines in other physical sciences: 17% decline in physics, 22% decline in chemistry, and 31% decline in geology\/geosciences.\u00a0 With a national trend for state legislators to eliminate low enrollment majors (e.g. Advanced Ohio Higher Education Act<\/a>) it is concerning that cuts to these programs will result in even fewer graduates in these fields.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education has an Earnings Accountability<\/a> rule that will cut off federal student loans to programs that produce graduates earning low incomes.\u00a0 The goal between both components of education policy is graduates that can find jobs that get a return on investment for their bachelor\u2019s degree.\u00a0 The irony lies in the fact that the very programs that have a solid return on investment are also those that have low enrollment.\u00a0 Not everybody can do physics, chemistry, and geology and, therefore, these fields provide an opportunity for high school students in search of a satisfying career.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence is also shifting the landscape.\u00a0 With automation, there is less need for chemists performing routine wet-lab procedures.\u00a0 However, the outcome of a BS in Chemistry degree is not a technician that accurately follows a checklist, but a scientist knowledgeable in chemical synthesis and interactions.\u00a0 Add to that the ability to analyze data and implement AI tools and you have a graduate that is marketable upon graduation.<\/p>\n

Physics is likewise resilient to the AI revolution.\u00a0 Being at the interface of mathematics and science, physics graduates have analytical skills that are portable beyond physics and astronomy.\u00a0 Engineering as well as interdisciplinary fields, such as materials science and biophysics, regularly incorporate physicists in their research groups.\u00a0 Although AI can explore a vast array of scenarios, it takes an individual with subject matter expertise to direct the research and attribute meaning to significant outcomes.\u00a0 This is true of physics and chemistry, as well as any of the sciences.<\/p>\n

Geology and geosciences, likewise, have a two-fold opportunity for bachelor\u2019s degree graduates.\u00a0 First, there are many geoscientists approaching the end of their professional career.\u00a0 This \u201csilver tsunami\u201d will leave corporations in need of earth scientists that can retain institutional knowledge in the oil\/gas, mining, and environmental industries.\u00a0 In addition, our technological world has an increasing demand for critical minerals, which exacerbates our need for individuals who can ethically guide our search for solutions to satisfy this demand.<\/p>\n

While the author of the Physics Today<\/em> article provides recommendations for the inevitable cliff, I see a golden opportunity for Cedarville University graduates in the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and geology\/geosciences.\u00a0 CNBC released America\u2019s Top States for Business 2026<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Ohio is number one due to its infrastructure and cost of doing business.\u00a0 Of the ten broad categories used in the ranking, Ohio scored lowest in \u201cworkforce.\u201d\u00a0 This measures the concentration of qualified STEM workers available to fill the need of businesses operating in Ohio.<\/p>\n

When I came to southwest Ohio thirty years ago, there was talk of the \u201crust belt\u201d due to the decline of the automotive industry.\u00a0 The Miami Valley lost significant employers, such as General Motors and NCR (National Cash Register).\u00a0 However, today there are businesses coming to Ohio and the Miami Valley.\u00a0 This technological renaissance increases the need for graduates in STEM fields, and in turn jobs for our graduates.\u00a0 Cedarville University, being the first institution in Ohio to do a campus-wide launch of ChatGPT Edu, positions its graduates to use AI effectively in their disciplines of study.\u00a0 Our graduates also have a reputation of being well prepared and having a heart to serve Christ in the church and their community.\u00a0 The demographic cliff is a concern for every institution of higher education, but for the School of Science and Mathematics at Cedarville University I am excited for the opportunities our graduates have in Ohio, the United States, and around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Physical Science and the Demographic Cliff S. M. Gollmer   Reading the September issue of Physics Today, I came across an article by Trevor Owens titled \u201cThe decline in physics bachelor\u2019s degrees: Contributors and consequences.\u201d\u00a0 It is not surprising that he cites the demographic cliff in higher education.\u00a0 This cliff is due to the sudden… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/stem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}